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I feel this is suffering from the typical US problem that public infrastructure does either not get built at all or in a super expensive way. There must be ways

I feel this is suffering from the typical US problem that public infrastructure does either not get built at all or in a super expensive way. There must be ways to build these crossings way cheaper than 90 million and place them in more locations. They only have to hold animals that at best weight a few hundred pounds.

willnonya 4y ago
This trend of spending millions on sinple projects is not a US problem so much as a California, New York etc problem.
kodah 4y ago
$90M sounded big until I looked up the budget: https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4628What https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4628What It's measured in billions.
krisoft 4y ago
> They only have to hold animals that at best weight a few hundred pounds. Uhm. I think there is some misunderstanding here. These wildlife crossings are more than just a plank going over the road. They are basically a bridge with a small patch of forest on them (or whatever vegetation matches the surrounding area). > To encourage use by wildlife, the bridge will have lush but drought-tolerant vegetation with matte materials to deflect bright headlights and insulation to quiet the roar of cars. Fencing at each end will help funnel them onto the crossing. I don’t know what is the fair price of a 165-foot-wide (50 m) and 200-foot-long (61 m) overpass holding up a small forest, but I know that the additional weight of the animals crossing is not a significant factor in it at all. Now obviously if we could convince wildlife to use something much narrower and simpler built like a pedestrian bridge maybe we could drive down the costs, i’m not sure if that has been tested or not.
- Someone 4y ago
  It has but not for mountain lions. The likes of toads and hedgehogs only need a small below-ground tube (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis,_California#Toad_Tunnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis,_California#Toad_Tunnel), squirrels and marters can be helped with an above-ground rope (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel_bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel_bridge) One issue with narrow passages is that predators may learn to take advantage of them, eventually driving other wildlife away.

willnonya 4y ago

This trend of spending millions on sinple projects is not a US problem so much as a California, New York etc problem.

kodah 4y ago

$90M sounded big until I looked up the budget: https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4628What https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4628What It's measured in billions.

krisoft 4y ago

> They only have to hold animals that at best weight a few hundred pounds. Uhm. I think there is some misunderstanding here. These wildlife crossings are more than just a plank going over the road. They are basically a bridge with a small patch of forest on them (or whatever vegetation matches the surrounding area). > To encourage use by wildlife, the bridge will have lush but drought-tolerant vegetation with matte materials to deflect bright headlights and insulation to quiet the roar of cars. Fencing at each end will help funnel them onto the crossing. I don’t know what is the fair price of a 165-foot-wide (50 m) and 200-foot-long (61 m) overpass holding up a small forest, but I know that the additional weight of the animals crossing is not a significant factor in it at all. Now obviously if we could convince wildlife to use something much narrower and simpler built like a pedestrian bridge maybe we could drive down the costs, i’m not sure if that has been tested or not.

Someone 4y ago
It has but not for mountain lions. The likes of toads and hedgehogs only need a small below-ground tube (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis,_California#Toad_Tunnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis,_California#Toad_Tunnel), squirrels and marters can be helped with an above-ground rope (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel_bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel_bridge) One issue with narrow passages is that predators may learn to take advantage of them, eventually driving other wildlife away.